Nested Secures £5 Million Investment to Expand its Tech-Driven Estate Agency

Nested, a London-based startup revolutionizing the estate agency sector through technological innovation and an enhanced home-selling process, has successfully raised an additional £5 million in funding. This investment round includes participation from Axel Springer, alongside existing investors Balderton Capital and Northzone.

Strategic Investment and Nationwide Expansion

According to Nested co-founder and CEO Matt Robinson, this funding is considered a “strategic investment.” It will bring significant industry expertise and resources from Axel Springer to the company’s board. This support is timed to coincide with a planned U.K.-wide launch later this year, signifying an expansion beyond Nested’s current operational area of London.

A Modern Approach to Estate Agency

Nested positions itself as a “modern estate agent,” combining the expertise of local agents with cutting-edge tools and technology. This pairing aims to provide superior support to both home sellers and buyers throughout the property transaction.

Initially, Nested offered a service to provide upfront funds for a new home purchase before the sale of the existing property was finalized. The company’s services have since broadened to encompass the complete house-selling process.

Hyper-Local Focus and Market Share Gains

Recently, Nested has been piloting a “hyper-local” strategy designed to deliver more tailored service within London’s diverse neighborhoods. The objective is to offer customers the advantages of a knowledgeable local agent, enhanced by Nested’s proprietary technology.

In 2020, Nested launched operations in five hyper-local areas and has reportedly achieved up to 15% market share within these zones. Plans are underway to introduce services to an additional 30 areas over the next 18 months, alongside expansion beyond the London metropolitan area.

Empowering Local Agents with Technology

“We identify and recruit the most effective local agents and equip them with unique technology and services that surpass anything else available in the industry, whether traditional or online,” explains Robinson. He acknowledges the presence of capable traditional agents but points out that their tools are often outdated.

Nested aims to provide these agents with modern tools to improve their performance and enhance the customer experience.

Differentiating from Online and Traditional Agencies

Robinson distinguishes Nested from online estate agencies like Purplebricks, which he describes as offering a “DIY option” that can hinder agent effectiveness due to excessive customer workloads. He also notes that traditional agencies have remained largely unchanged for half a century.

“Initially, customers chose us for our innovative features and services, alongside our skilled team. However, it became apparent that most customers also highly value the local knowledge and experience of an agent, and we were asking them to compromise,” Robinson adds.

Combining Local Expertise with Advanced Features

“Our current strategy is to provide both. We employ the best local agents and empower both them and our customers with features to manage the sale process more effectively than anywhere else. Examples include our customer account, dedicated buying agent, and advance service.”

Benefits of a Local Market Focus

Robinson emphasizes that focusing on individual local markets creates beneficial network effects through cross-promotion of properties. “Furthermore, we can provide agents with a more manageable workload and reduced travel time, allowing them to dedicate more attention to clients and offer more personalized advice.”

Tech-Enabled Transparency for Home Sellers

As an illustration of how Nested’s technology benefits local agents, the company recently released updates to its mobile application. This app provides home sellers with instant access to all aspects of their sale, including viewing feedback, scheduled viewings, and a record of their agent’s activities to generate and follow up on inquiries.

Robinson describes this feature as providing “all information at the tap of a button, eliminating the need for constant phone calls with your agent.”